Through the Fire and Flames
by PAT THE KITSUNE
Summary: 6 years have passed since he left Earth. Since he left that 11-year-old boy. When an old passion is kindled in the now grown boy for his old counselor, will new love blossom between them? Or will an old rival thwart those feelings to foster his own?Z/DADR
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Alright. After a bit of discussion with one of my role play partners, we finally decided that I should be the one to post this new story here. So here I go. The following story is a ZADR/DADR combo story, so if you don't like said pairings, please just click on the back button at the top of the page and don't even bother commenting. As many of you may have noticed by now, I don't take shit from anyone on here. So unless you're leaving a comment telling us what you like about the story, don't even bother commenting. We don't accept criticism mainly because most people on here DON'T KNOW HOW to give proper criticism. So that said, I'll now get on to posting the first chapter of this new story.

Now, for those of you wondering, unlike the story I'm working on with Sass (Dib Is Sick), this new story WILL come with responses back to those of you who review. So feel free to jump in with any questions you may have about the story and we'll try to answer those questions to the best of our abilities. Though, to be perfectly honest, unless a question is directed at me personally, -I- will not be the one responding to your guys' reviews. My role play partner on this story, LinnechaRose, will be responding to any and all reviews we get. So yeah. I'm just posting for us. She'll be the one getting back to you guys. Oh, and please note that these chapters are VERY short in nature. I'd like to be able to get updates posted quickly, so it's much easier for our beta if we keep these chapters short. Please don't complain about it.

We hope you guys enjoy the following content of our story and will look forward to future chapters from us. ^^ An as always, feedback is very much appreciated. So don't be shy. =3 We love hearing from our readers. ^^

Through the Fire and Flames: Chapter 1

Zim: Me (For a change. XD)

Dib: LinnechaRose

Counselor: Both of us

Beta: CattGregory

Warnings: I hesitate to say extreme OOCness in this story because to be perfectly honest, we're trying to keep them in character this time around. I will say, however, that there might be a few minor scenes in which OOCness comes across. So yeah. Don't expect them to be perfectly in character. Just assume that we're doing our best to TRY and keep them in character.

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

"Does it bother you? That he's never around, I mean?" Zim could hear the counselor saying from his spot outside the counselor's office door.

He wondered why the chubby, sweater-wearing man asked Dib that same question every single day. It wasn't like the boy's answer was going to change. It'd been the same for the past two years and he doubted it would change even slightly in the future.

Ever since they had entered high school, Dib had been forced to visit the school counselor every day at lunch, and for as long as he could remember, Zim would stand outside the door, listening and waiting for the others time in there to be over. It was, after all, better than going to that vile cafeteria each day and trying to pretend he was eating that sludge they served all the other high school students.

He shuddered at the thought of those humans, slurping down mouthfuls of the filth. Thankfully, Dib was smarter than them and more often than not brought his lunch from home.

Zim's antennae perked when he heard shuffling on the other side of the door. Somebody had stood up. Bolting to an area just beneath the stairway, Zim waited for Dib to open up the door and exit the room in that same moody demeanor he did every day. The Irken loved to push the teenage boy's buttons after his daily "appointment." It was always the time he was more likely to get a rise out of Dib.

As Dib shuffled out the counselor's office, just as moodily as Zim expected, the alien waited until the councilor left before initiating his daily torment of the human.

"Dib, please. Our session isn't up yet. We still have ten minutes left before I can let you leave." The counselor in charge of Dib chased after the boy, grabbing him by the arm. All he had asked was whether it bothered him that his father was rarely around. He hadn't expected such a reaction today.

Dib appeared rather angry, even more so than usual. Just as soon as the counselor grabbed him by the arm, he slowly turned his head towards him. He had a warning look in his eyes, almost as if to say 'Back away, now.'

"I'm absolutely sick of these little "sessions" you put me through every day. They don't accomplish anything. In fact, they're making things worse," he nearly spat out at him.

With an almost pained look on his face, the counselor slowly let go of his arm, backing away a few steps. He had never seen Dib react this way before.

"W-well if you want, we can just reduce the sessions down to once a week instead of every day. Would that be better? I'm just trying to help you Dib, you know that." He reassured the teen, giving him a weak smile.

Dib didn't seem to appreciate the counselor's efforts at all. No, he wasn't lying when he said he was sick of them. He really, truly was.

"Look...I have no friends. Everyone thinks I'm completely crazy for my 'outrageous claims'. My own sister loathes me and wishes I didn't even exist. The only person who's even remotely close to being my friend hates me too. My dad can't even remember my name half the time. Tell me, what good would it do to just rub it in my face every single day, REMINDING me that my own father isn't there for me? That's only a fraction of the entire freaking problem!" he yelled at him, his voice loud enough that it echoed down the hallway they were in.

His counselor sighed, tracing his gaze down to the ground. He finally began to realize that his attempts at helping the boy just weren't getting him anywhere.

"I...understand, Dib. But if it means anything, I could be your friend. Even though I'm your counselor," he smiled at him sincerely, hoping it would make Dib feel better.

It didn't. He simply kept staring at him, his angry expression never wavering.

"Whatever, guy," he muttered as he turned on his heel to walk back to the cafeteria, just wanting to get out of there as quickly as possible.

The counselor merely shook his head slowly and returned to his office, not being able to help but feel sorry for the teen.

On the way back, Dib spotted movement from underneath the stairs. Curious to know what it was, he walked over and peeked around. He saw Zim sitting there nonchalantly, staring up at him with a big smirk on his face as if he'd been there the entire lunch period.

He wasn't surprised to find him there, as he knew Zim spied on him every day during his counseling sessions. It got really old after a while.

"Zim..." he murmured in a low voice, narrowing his eyes. He was not in the mood to be messed with.

"Well, hello there, Dib-shit. Did you enjoy your time with the overweight counseling human?" he asked, just to get under Dib's skin. Of course, he knew the answer already. And he knew that Dib knew he knew the answer.

Standing up to straighten out his uniform top and readjust his wig some, he then crossed his arms as though waiting for an answer from the teen. He could tell the human was fighting not to yell at him, not to HIT him. But if he did such a thing out here in the open and one of the teachers just happened to notice, it'd mean more counseling for the human and more ammo for Zim in the future.

Circling the human a few times, just because he knew the other hated it whenever he did that, he couldn't help but look the other over some. A small frown crossed his features. Although he had accepted it by now, he couldn't say he was all too happy about the fact that the 17-year-old boy had grown taller than him over the years. After all, by Irken standards, the human was still a smeet. Sure, he had grown some too over the years, but not nearly as much as these humans pig-smellies had. At 5'2", he was one of the shortest students in their class, though his increased height would be considered quite a feat on his own home planet.

A/N: And there you have it for the first chapter. Once again, we ask that you not complain about the length of these chapters. We'll be trying to get them out as quickly as we can. But for now, please just sit back and enjoy what we do get to posting. We have a very well thought out plot for this story and it'd be great if you guys would stick around to see where we take it from here. =3 So until next time~


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Alright. So that first chapter of TtFaF went over pretty well, all things considered. I wanted to see first how you guys would like it before continuing, and so far responses have been positive. So, how about another chapter to satisfy your cravings, eh? Much love to all our readers, reviewers, favers, story alert list adders etc. for all your continued support. In celebration of the fact that I am FINALLY finished with school (No, not for the semester. I mean quite LITERALLY finished forever, never have to go to school again after today finished), here's Chapter 2 for those of you who have been waiting. Oh and remember. Feedback be much appreciated. So please. Send in those reviews so Linnecha and I can get back to you guys about them. ^^ After all, we love getting to know our reviewers. =3

Through the Fire and Flames: Chapter 2

Zim: Me (For a change. XD)

Dib: LinnechaRose

Beta: CattGregory

Warnings: I hesitate to say extreme OOCness in this story because to be perfectly honest, we're trying to keep them in character this time around. I will say, however, that there might be a few minor scenes in which OOCness comes across. So yeah. Don't expect them to be perfectly in character. Just assume that we're doing our best to TRY and keep them in character.

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim stopped circling the boy after a moment and tilted his head to one side. The Dib was still glaring at him, though it seemed more like a tired scowl on the other's part. He wondered for a moment whether the human was going to yell at him and when nothing of the sort came, Zim glared and jabbed a finger sharply at Dib's large head. "Dib-shit! Do you plan on answering Zim's question or not?" He continued to poke at the other as though that would make the rise he was waiting for come on faster.

Dib simply narrowed his eyes even more, a low growl emitting from deep inside his throat. He looked almost dangerous.

"Get. The fuck. Away from me, Zim," he hissed somewhat demonically. No yelling, no empty insults. Just a simple command.

A shocked expression spread across the alien's face. Dib stood there glaring at him for what seemed like forever. He was tired of the counseling sessions. He was tired of constantly being picked on by every single person he walked past. He was sick of living a life of hell. But most of all, he was tired of the stupid, conceited, hateful Irken who had managed to completely ruin his life over the years.

He glared at him even harder. "You're a weak, pathetic, stupid, useless and defective alien who claims to be superior to the human race. Well guess what, buddy! You're not. You can't even get your own robot to listen to you half of the time. It's because he's useless and defective, too. You need to just accept the fact that you're NEVER going to conquer this planet. Not like I give a damn about it anymore," he said, venom dripping from his words.

He turned to walk away, leaving the alien behind without saying another word. Tears formed in his eyes, but he quickly blinked them away. He couldn't let Zim know how he truly felt. How he felt about being so alone. So lost, so forgotten, so very unloved. But it didn't matter. Not anymore.

He was going to go far away. Yes, very far away, indeed.

As Dib left the proximity of the hallway, Zim couldn't help but stare after the human with perfectly round eyes. He felt as though he had just been punched in the gut, the rise he had gotten out of Dib nothing like what he had been expecting to get. Normally, he would have gotten angry at such insults. He would have chased after the human and beat him to a bloody pulp. But for some reason in that moment, he felt too stunned to even move a muscle. Their usual arguments always consisted of half-hearted insults and rants. But what the Dib had just said to him had his spooch giving an odd lurch.

The human's words played over in his mind a second time, two words in particular striking at his recently injured ego. They had been words he received about two months prior to that situation, the last time he had spoken to his Tallest.

"Useless...Absolutely useless."

"And defective. Don't forget that one." the call from that day rang loud and clear in his antennae again.

His body physically drooping, Zim turned to leave in the opposite direction Dib had just left, already gone by the time the human had turned back one last time to glance at where they had both stood.

Ditching the school grounds, Zim returned home to his base early that day, moodily shuffling past Gir when the disguised android bounded towards him. He planned to spend the rest of the evening down in his lab, monitoring the Dib-human's movements via a tracking device he had managed to place on the other several years back. The human still had as of yet to notice it, and he doubted the boy ever WOULD notice.

He slumped into a seat at his computer, watching the small blip on the screen move across the grid as Dib made his daily rounds around school and then returned home to his neighborhood. He didn't know why he always insisted on coming home to monitor the human. It had just become a habit of his over the past few months, he guessed. As he watched the small dot on the screen move from one spot to the next, the Irken couldn't help but let his mind wander somewhat. He'd been watching the other's movements for so long, he had practically memorized Dib's coming and going.

Finally after a good few hours, the tracking device made its final stop, a sign to Zim that the other had gone to bed for the night. Sitting up from his position slumped over the keyboard, Zim stretched and let out a small yawn. He guessed the show was over for now. Standing up, he then made his way back to the elevator, keen on getting a snack before checking in for the night himself. He'd confront Dib about his hurtful words tomorrow morning. Perhaps shove him into a locker or something as a form of revenge.

After retrieving a left over waffle from that morning's breakfast, Zim returned to the lower half of his base to make his way towards his bedroom to recharge. As he was making his way past the computer room, however, he stopped, eyes wide and half the waffle hanging out of his mouth.

The tracking device was on the move again!

Looking over at the clock in the room, he noted the time. Close to midnight. Dib never went out this late. So then just what the Irk was the human doing wandering about this late at night? Grabbing the portable monitor he had on hand, he slapped his disguise back on before making a run for the elevator. Wherever it was the human was going, he planned on finding out himself.

Dib simply couldn't sleep tonight. He had far too much on his mind. He kept churning over in his head the words he had spoken so harshly, both to the counselor and to Zim. It was as if somebody else had been talking for him. He had to clear his thoughts.

A/N: And there you have it for the second chapter. As promised, here are our responses back to those of you who reviewed last chapter. =3

To Pilpols:

Pat: No, no. XD Dwicky's not the counselor in this chapter. He hasn't returned to Earth just yet. But he will. Trust us, he will.

Linnecha: ZADR and DADR are indeed great combos! Glad you're enjoying it so far. ^^ Just wait till the later chapters! XD

To Lovegirl1:

Linnecha: Yep, Dib's about at his breaking point. And thank you! We'll be adding much more. ^^

Once again, much love to all our readers. And we look forward to hopefully hearing from more of you next chapter. =3


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Ready for another update on this one, you guys? =3 I sure hope so. X3 Here's Chapter 3 for those of you waiting. =3 Feedback be much appreciated. ^^

Through the Fire and Flames: Chapter 3

Zim: Me (For a change. XD)

Dib: LinnechaRose

Beta: CattGregory

Warnings: I hesitate to say extreme OOCness in this story because to be perfectly honest, we're trying to keep them in character this time around. I will say, however, that there might be a few minor scenes in which OOCness comes across. So yeah. Don't expect them to be perfectly in character. Just assume that we're doing our best to TRY and keep them in character.

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Silently sneaking out of his house, Dib made his way outside, welcoming the calm night air. At least at night, nobody was out to make fun of his head or call him names. For this, he was thankful.

He walked down the dully lit sidewalk, hands jammed in his trench coat pockets. He looked up at the night sky, seeing the thousands of stars and their brilliance. Long having given up his dream of becoming an astronaut, he sighed out heavily as he directed his attention back to the path in front of him, walking with slow steps.

Gaz truly hated him. After they had gotten home from school, she immediately locked herself in her room, occupying herself with her Game Slave. He attempted to get her attention by knocking on her door, and asking if he could talk to her. She simply threw a very blunt object at the other side of door, signaling for him to leave her alone.

His father truly didn't care for him. He had tried getting a hold of him an hour or so afterwards, desperately needing someone to talk to. He eventually got through, but only to one of his dad's "people". He had asked the man if his dad was available at the time. The man merely looked at him oddly, then casually said "Um, I don't recall Professor Membrane having a son, although I think he has a daughter." He gave up on trying to talk to his dad.

Zim was...Zim. Dib hated Zim, and Zim hated Dib. They've hated each other ever since the very first day Dib saw him step foot in their class room. But for some reason, he couldn't shake off the feeling of thinking he really hurt Zim with his hateful words today. He didn't know why he felt that pinch of guilt. He had every right in the world to go off on him like he did. But it wasn't like Dib, no, not at all. Something inside of him just snapped, beginning during the counseling session. He didn't quite know what caused him to snap, but he was pretty sure it was because of his bottled up emotions.

It was time for a change.

He had walked upon a familiar looking wooded area, with an adjoining open grassy field. The tall grass swayed peacefully with the wind as the full moon shined brightly from above, casting a dim heavenly light over the vacant field. It was certainly a beautiful sight.

He sighed as he knelt down to the ground, taking a seat next to a large log. It was too bad he didn't have someone to share this with. Then it hit him.

This was the same exact field where his old counselor, Mr. Dwicky, had accompanied him years ago in an attempt to expose Zim for the rotten alien he was. Having had all the evidence on his video recorder and handed it to his councilor, Dib watched as Dwicky had decided to join the Plookeshians on their conquest through space, and had taken the footage with him. Dib couldn't help but smile and shake his head at the memory.

He rather missed Dwicky after he had left. He was the only person who had witnessed aliens with him, other than Gaz. But Gaz didn't care. She didn't care about anything. Dwicky, however, had showed him compassion for his beliefs, even if he did think Dib was crazy at first. And although he was a counselor, he seemed...different than the others. He was sincere, willing to help him with his problems. Yeah. He certainly missed him, especially now.

The air around him suddenly became still. Too still. He raised his head slowly, adjusted his glasses and looked around. The grass in the field stood completely unmoving now. He stood up and glanced at the tops of the trees, noticing how still they were as well. How very strange...

Suddenly, the entire field lit up, dimly at first, then got increasingly brighter. Dib looked up in panic, not being able to tell what the source of the light was. He hurriedly ran over and hid behind a tree, hoping to be out of sight of whatever it was.

The light got brighter and brighter until finally it was almost too bright to look at. Whatever it was, had made its way to the open field he had just been staring out at. Then as quickly as it happened, the blinding light dimmed down, finally disappearing completely. Dib peeked his head around the trunk of the tree he was hiding behind, curious as to what it was. He couldn't believe what he saw.

It was the Plookeshian's space ship, the same one he had seen years ago. Giant and metallic, it stood a midst the field, the moon light reflecting off its surface. Then out of nowhere, the entrance door of the ship slowly made its way open, providing a stairway exiting the ship. At the top of the stairway stood two dark figures, one rather tall, the other short in comparison. Dib blinked a few times, trying to make out the identity of the silhouettes.

"Thanks for dropping us off here. I know coming here was a ways out of your way." the voice of the taller silhouette said before stooping down low to scoop the smaller figure into his arms bridle style. The smaller of the two didn't protest, rather clinging to the taller male tiredly and closing his eyes to sleep. Frail in appearance, he didn't look like he could be any older than 11 or 12 year old. "Give us just a month's time. We'll be ready to head on out again then." he then said to some figure still on board the ship.

The inhuman figure's eyes seemed to glow in the darkness before nodding its head in approval and backing up into the ship some more.

Meanwhile, Zim hovered in his ship just a little ways away, eyes wide as he looked down from above at the large ship hovering just off the ground and preparing for take-off again. What WAS that? Forgetting about Dib for the time being, he decided not to stick around and find out first hand. He'd return to the lab and perform a scan of the Earth from the space station he had orbiting the planet. If another alien had landed, he'd know right away.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 3. Linnecha will now respond to our one reviewer last chapter. ^^

To Pilpols:

Linnecha: Don't worry. Dib won't resort to killing himself. He's too strong for that. ^^  
>And thank you! There's much more to come.<p>

Well, until next time, you guys~


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Mmmm...Sorry for the wait, you guys. I fell onto a very weird sleeping schedule and so didn't get this updated yesterday like I had wanted to. But here's Chapter 4 now for those of you who have been waiting. =3 Much love to all of you reading/sending in reviews. And, as always, feedback is very much appreciated. ^^ As are faves/story alert list adds/etc. So enjoy. ^^

Through the Fire and Flames: Chapter 4

Zim: Me (For a change. XD)

Dib: LinnechaRose

Beta: CattGregory

Warnings: I hesitate to say extreme OOCness in this story because to be perfectly honest, we're trying to keep them in character this time around. I will say, however, that there might be a few minor scenes in which OOCness comes across. So yeah. Don't expect them to be perfectly in character. Just assume that we're doing our best to TRY and keep them in character.

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Dib, on the other hand, remained staring wide-eyed at the two figures, the lights from the ship still obstructing his view. As the ship began to lift higher and higher, the grass beneath them rattled before blowing up in clumps with the force of some high-pitched sound emitting from the leaving ship. It was a temporary precaution. Every living being within a certain radius of the surrounding area would be knocked out temporarily by the force of the sound wave. Every being, that is, except for the two left standing, one a tall man with dark black hair and the other a young boy with light brown hair. Had the force of the sound wave not been so close to Dib, he would have sworn the man was Dwicky, his past school counselor.

Rising up a hand to remove two pieces of cotton he had used to plug up his ears, the man looked about the place. It was good to be home, though it felt strange referring to this planet as his home after such a long trip in space. Reaching into his pants pocket, he pulled out a few hundred dollar bills and sighed. He was lucky nowhere else in the universe accepted Earth money. This was all he had on him for now. Left over from at least 6 years ago, the money he had would have to hold them over until he could pick up a temporary job somewhere. He looked down at the boy in his arms. "Well, I guess we better find ourselves a cheap hotel to stay in for now. I'll find us some food to eat in the morning and then go out and look for a job in the surrounding school district." he said before looking in the direction of the lit up town and heading out that way.

He wondered how much had changed in his absence. Surely, some things must have remained the same. But he guessed it didn't matter. He'd find out soon enough, once morning had come.

Having been knocked out cold by the space ship's powerful sound wave, Dib rested unconscious on the cool forest ground to sleep for a few hours. When he came to, he blinked his eyes a few times, glancing around in confusion. What had just happened? Why was he in this wooded area at night? He figured either he was still dreaming, or Zim was undergoing a way to ambush him. Either way, he didn't want to stick around to find out.

He slowly stood up, his legs feeling weak and started to shake, making his entire body wobble. He brought a hand to his aching head, attempting to soothe the pain, but with hardly any luck. He slowly began walking back the way he vaguely remembered coming, still somewhat in a daze. He didn't know what was going on, but he had to get back home. Then it all started coming back to him.

The events of the day before flooded into his mind like a very bad realization. He remembered his conversations with the counselor, his sudden lashing out at Zim, the terrible neglect of his sister and father. He just wanted it all to stop.

He made his way back to his neighborhood, thankful he didn't run into Zim at all the entire way. He couldn't help but smile at the thought of Zim trying to catch him off guard at night, in a dark wooded area. The Irken was anger-provoking, sure, but some of his attempts were just too crazy not to laugh at sometimes. They've had their normal bouts throughout the years; Zim trying to take over the world, and Dib trying to stop him from going through with it. His smile got a little bit wider as all the memories flashed through his mind.

He decided he was going to apologize to the alien at school tomorrow for the way he snapped at him. The slight guilt he felt about the whole thing never once left his gut. He imagined it would make everyone feel better if he apologized. He even figured he'd say sorry to the poor counselor who didn't even deserve his attitude. He was only trying to help.

With a sigh, he rounded his house's electric field fence and made his way to the front door. Yawning, he opened it tiredly, figuring since Gaz was the only one home that his return would go unnoticed.

Finally making it back to his room, he shut his door behind him and sunk to the floor. He didn't deserve his bed. Not tonight. His mind was swimming with too much guilt. A silent tear fell from his eye. Curling up in on himself, hugging his knees to his chest, he fell asleep within a matter of minutes.

The next day at school, Dib was pretty much silent. His only objective was to apologize to the counselor and to Zim. It wouldn't be too difficult, right?

As he made his way down the hallway towards the counselor's office, he wondered how Zim would take his apology. He knew right away the counselor would happily forgive him, since he was only trying to help Dib. But he wasn't too sure about Zim. He would either gloat proudly, exclaiming that nobody could stay angry at the "Almighty Zim" for too long, or he would simply tell him to leave him alone in the same ignorant manner he was oh-so used to. Either way, he knew something negative was going to spring out of it.

He stood outside the door of the counselor's office now. He nervously ran a hand through his scythe-lock of hair before he reached out to knock on the door. Right before he could make a sound, he heard two voices from inside the office. Deciding not to intrude on their conversation, he pulled his hand away and began listening carefully to what was being said on the other side of the door.

"I'm so glad you've returned from vacation, Mr. Dwicky! We've all missed you VERY much! That was quite the vacation, though. Where did you say you went again?"

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 4. Who here is interested in finding out the identity of that light-haired boy we keep mentioning? o3o Anyone? Anyone? Well, for those of you curious, let's just say he's NOT an OC. But you'll all find out more about him in later chapters to come. XD Now Linnecha will respond to our reviewers from last chapter. ^^

To Pilpols:

Linnecha: OMG what? :D

To xxxCARxCRASHxHEARTxxx:

Linnecha: Why yes, it IS DADR! But keep your eyes peeled for the later chapters. (That is, if you're mature enough to read it. XD) There's going to be some incredibly smexy DADR. ^^

To MockingVenus (For both reviews you sent into us):

Linnecha: We'll be uploading a lot more chapters in the future, and we're sure if you enjoyed chapter 1, you'll love the later chapters just as much. ^^ As for your question concerning finding love in space, you'll just have to keep reading to find out what happens! Can't give too much away too early. Let's just say, you should be satisfied, if anything. XD

That said, we leave you people with this new chapter. Hope you all enjoy, and we look forward to hearing back from some of you really soon. 8D


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Oh me, oh my. I DO owe you guys another update of this story, don't I? Well, I best be getting it posted then. XD Chapter 5 of TtFaF. =3 We hope you guys enjoy. ^^ And remember, feedback be very much appreciated. ^^

Through the Fire and Flames: Chapter 5

Zim: Me (For a change. XD)

Dib: LinnechaRose

Beta: CattGregory

Warnings: I hesitate to say extreme OOCness in this story because to be perfectly honest, we're trying to keep them in character this time around. I will say, however, that there might be a few minor scenes in which OOCness comes across. So yeah. Don't expect them to be perfectly in character. Just assume that we're doing our best to TRY and keep them in character.

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

"I, err, went to the Bahamas! Oh yes, it was a much needed vacation! Before I took leave, I never once took a day off since graduation from college. I figured it would do me some good, you know, to help clear my mind so I'd be better able to help these needy students!"

"Yes, that makes much sense! At any rate..."

Dib stopped listening to their conversation. His eyes and mouth wide open, he backed away a few steps. Mr. Dwicky...had returned? How? Why?

Then his mind flashed back to the night before, instantly remembering the whole Plookeshian's space ship incident. Was that Dwicky he had seen? He thought that was all just a dream, but...It had actually happened? A wide smile slowly spread across his face, making him all giddy and excited. The one person who understood him the most was back. He couldn't help but let out an excited giggle of joy.

As Dib stood waiting just outside the councilor's office, one tired-looking and very late to school Irken approached from down the hall. He was irritated. He had spent nearly the entire night scanning the Earth in search of any life forms not human. But absolutely NONE had shown up on his monitors. It was driving him insane. He knew the ship he had seen last night COULDN'T have originated from Earth. So then why hadn't he picked up anything yet?

He had decided late that morning to keep his computer on scan mode while he headed to school. He could at least keep communication with his base in the event something showed up on the scans. But he was so tired. He hadn't had a chance to recharge last night and his PAK had gone into energy conservation mode.

Yawning as he approached the almost giddy-looking boy, Zim scowled at the happy look on the other's face. Completely disregarding the fact that it wasn't normal for Dib to look so happy, he growled, remembering the other's hurtful words to him the day before and his plans of revenge on the other. It was because of the human he had been up all night! Had the boy planned the entire thing from the start? It seemed the only reasonable explanation! Perhaps that was why he was so happy. Zim just about wanted to tug at his antennae; the other's smile was so infuriating. Surely the Dib had planned this from the start.

Zim felt a rage building up inside him, as though their confrontation from yesterday had just begun to affect him. Balling his hands into fists, he grit his teeth angrily and glared daggers at the boy from his spot a few feet away. Then, in an explosion of frustration, he stomped his way up to the human. "DIB-SHIT! Just what the IRK is making you look so goddamn happy?" he exclaimed, grabbing Dib from behind so he could turn the other around and shove him against the wall outside the councilor's office.

Stunned by Zim's sudden outburst, he stared at the alien wide-eyed, not knowing what to do or say. Now was the time to apologize to him. He inhaled deeply, blurting out a rather rushed apology.

"Z-Zim! I'm so sorry for what I said yesterday! I didn't mean any of it! I was just so angry at everyone! I'm sorry, sorry, sorry! Please forgive me!" he exclaimed, placing his hands on Zim's arms, trying to unpin himself from his grasp. But it wasn't of much use. Zim's strength was definitely inhuman.

He then looked into the alien's contact-covered eyes, trying to get through to him. Why was Zim so damn proud? So ignorant? So...uncaring? Dib sighed and sunk somewhat under Zim's grasp, feeling even worse. "I'm sorry..." he muttered under his breath one last time, gazing down at the ground. He knew it. The Irken would always hate him, no matter what happened.

Scowling even more hatefully at the human's rushed apology, Zim shoved him even tighter up against the wall behind him. Did the human really think saying he was sorry would make up for what he'd said yesterday?

"Filthy human." he spat almost venomously. "Zim cares not for your putrid apology. You humans will spout out just about anything to get out of an uncomfortable situation, won't you? Well, you're not fooling anyone! You hear me, human?" he gave Dib rough jerk forward just so he could slam the other against the wall again. "Zim knows how your kind works. You think "apologizing" will make everything better. It'll make it seem like none of it ever even happened. Well, news flash, Dib! It DID happen!" he bared his teeth at the boy angrily, everything about his posture suggesting rage on his part. But somewhere inside all that rage, there stood out another emotion unfamiliar to both.

Zim's hands shook against Dib as he tried to suppress the hurt feeling that was beginning to make itself known inside of him again. He hated the feeling with a passion and refused to let it weaken his current resolve. But before he could take his anger any farther, he suddenly heard the school bell ring, signaling the start of their classes.

Fisting his hands in Dib's lapels even more, wanting nothing more than to sock the human for making him feel this way, Zim let out a frustrated growl before pushing Dib away from him and turning to head for their classroom.

With a pained expression, he stared after Zim as he began walking to class. At least that was out of the way, he figured.

He began walking to class, thinking to himself the entire way. Mr. Dwicky was finally back. He just couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with joy. He wanted so badly to talk to him, but he figured he'd wait a little while before he even confronted him. He probably didn't even remember him, anyway. He sighed sadly at the thought of Dwicky not recognizing him.

He made his way to his seat and sat down slowly, avoiding even so much as looking in Zim's direction at all costs. The guilt he felt still didn't leave. Why did he still feel this way? He didn't know.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 5. We leave you off with one pissed off Zim and a guilty Dib. But don't worry. Things are about to change very shortly come the next chapter or so. XD Until then, however, we leave Linnecha to respond to those of you who reviewed last chapter. ^^

To Invader Lily lee ray:

Linnecha: XD we'll be updating very soon, don't worry. And yes, there's going to be ZADR in the future. TONS of ZADR. ^^

To Pilpols:

Linnecha: XD you'll just have to keep reading and find out~!

To xxxCARxCRASHxHEARTxxx:

Linnecha: Well, that's good! Then you'll have the pleasure of reading the incredibly sexy bits of our story in the near future. XD

Until next chapter, you guys~


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